Monkey puzzle

Monkey puzzle: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Evergreen tree of 10–25 m, broadly conical when young, later with a tall, open, candelabra-shaped crown; the branches grow in whorls around the trunk.

Leaf

Leathery, triangular leaves of 3–5 cm with a spiny tip, spiralled and overlapping all round the branches; they stay on for 10–15 years.

Bark

Grey, with ring-shaped scars left by old branches.

Cone

Large, round cones (10–15 cm) that take years to ripen; in Chile the seeds are eaten. Male and female cones usually grow on separate trees.

Difference from Norfolk Island pine

Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) has soft, small needles and is a houseplant that cannot live outdoors.

Pruning: April–May

Identify by feature: Prickly needles

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla): soft, small needles; a houseplant that cannot live outdoors.

Why grow it?

• A silhouette like no other: an eye-catcher for a large front garden or a park.
• Evergreen and just as striking all year round, winter included.
• Little work: it grows slowly and hardly ever needs pruning.
• Fully hardy and wind-resistant.

Monkey puzzle: where does it grow best?

• Full sun; that is where it grows best.
• Any well-drained soil, acid or chalky, that neither dries out nor stays wet for long.
• Copes well with wind, even on the coast.
• Allow for a crown about 8 m across and 15 m or more tall: not a tree for a small garden, but for a large front garden, a big garden or a park. Keep it well away from paths, patios and play areas.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

15 m tall, 8 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Atlas cedar: In a park or large garden: another evergreen showpiece from the age of the great landscape parks.
• Giant redwood: Two exotics often seen together in old country-house parks; only if you have a great deal of space.
• Ornamental juniper: A low, creeping juniper around the base covers the ground, needs little care and keeps people away from the prickly branches.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Monkey puzzle: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in April or September, container-grown or root-balled. A young plant establishes best.
2. Choose the final spot straight away, far enough from the house, paths and play areas: it grows wide and the leaves are prickly.
3. Dig a generous planting hole, loosen the soil and set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot.
4. Water during dry spells for the first two years; after that it fends for itself.
5. If you ever want seeds, you need a male and a female tree. You can only tell a tree’s sex after many years, once it produces cones.

Care

Watering

During dry spells in the first few years; an older tree needs no watering.

Feeding

Not needed; a little compost at planting is enough.

Lower branches

Older trees lose their branches from the bottom up. That is normal: remove the dead branches in spring.

Fallen branches

Dead branches drop off leaves and all and stay sharp for a long time: clear them up wearing sturdy gloves.

Tip: Don’t plant a young monkey puzzle too close to the house or the path: today’s one-metre plant will become a tree with a crown 8 m across and leaves like blades.

Monkey puzzle: when to prune it?

Pruning months: April–May.

When: In spring, remove the lowest dead branches.

How:

• Saw dead branches off close to the trunk, without cutting into the trunk.
• Don’t cut healthy branches to make it smaller: a branch that is sawn off won’t grow back, and a cut leader is never neatly replaced.
• On a large tree, use a long-handled pruning saw, and stand beside the branch, not underneath it.

Caution: Wear sturdy gloves and long sleeves: the leaves are razor-sharp, even on dead branches.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

Fresh seeds from a fertilised female cone germinate readily; don’t let them dry out. Sow them in a deep pot of sandy compost. Seedlings grow slowly.

Cuttings

Rarely successful: a cutting from a side branch keeps growing sideways and never becomes a shapely tree.

Monkey puzzle: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy in Belgium and the Netherlands.
• In severe frost with a cold, dry east wind, young trees can get brown leaves; they usually recover in spring.
• After a winter storm, check for broken branches and clear them up wearing gloves.

Diseases and pests

• Dying lower branches: Normal on older trees. If it happens quickly, or higher branches die too, suspect drought, compacted soil, road salt or root rot.
• Root rot: Brown, dying branches on wet, poorly drained soil. Plant it in a well-drained spot; a sick tree is hard to save.
• Brown leaves: After a harsh winter with cold winds, especially on young trees. Be patient: the tree grows back in spring.

Through the year

• January: After a storm: clear up broken branches wearing gloves.
• April: Saw off the lowest dead branches; plant container-grown trees.
• May: Finish removing dead branches.
• July: Water young trees during dry spells.
• August: Water during prolonged drought, in the first few years.
• September: Plant container-grown or root-balled trees.
• November: Clear up fallen branches; mulch around a young tree.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Striking specimen tree with a candelabra-shaped crown; slow-growing.

Food and drink

In Chile the large seeds (piñones) are eaten boiled or roasted.

Caution: The leaves are razor-sharp: don’t plant it next to a path or play area.

Did you know?

• The name ‘monkey puzzle’ comes from the remark that even a monkey would struggle to climb it.
• A living fossil: its family was already around when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
• The Pehuenche people of the Andes take their name from the tree (pehuén), and its seeds (piñones) are an important food there. It is protected in Chile, as it is endangered in the wild.
• In Chile, the Scottish naval surgeon Archibald Menzies was served the seeds for dessert. He pocketed a few, raised them on board and so brought the first monkey puzzles to Britain.
• The monkey puzzle family already existed in the age of the dinosaurs: fossil araucarias are known from the Jurassic.